What do I really need to go to market?

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Whether you’re taking a product or service, the go-to-market (GTM) process can be difficult to navigate at best and a nightmare at worst. Launches get waylaid by unexpected questions and stalled by unsolved dilemmas.

Prepare to go to market with answers to 10 questions

A good framework or checklist can help you avoid these complications. A robust GTM framework should help you to answer the following ten questions:

What is the offering? Before you begin, make sure you have defined any necessary terms, landed on a clear scope, and can describe the look and feel of the offering.

What’s the business model? Know how you will make money from this offering and how it will contribute to your overall strategy.

What benefit does this offering provide to the company and/or its partners?

What benefit does this offering provide to the customer or end user?

How is the offering structured? Is there a single package, multiple options, buy-ups, add-ons, levels, etc.? Are capabilities or services bundled together or sold a la carte?

What is the customer experience from start to finish? Consider how they will purchase, receive, and use it. What does the renewal, recommendation, or end of lifecycle look like?

How does this new offering work with other products or services the customer is already using? Study how your product will work with or replace objects your audience is already familiar with.

What is the internal process for developing and bringing new offerings to market and does this offering follow that process? How will the GTM process be governed, get customer insights, or coordinate with internal and external partners?

What is the GTM timeline? Consider all the milestones and approvals leading to the offering becoming available for consumers.

How is the offering built? Depending on the nature of the offering, this could require a technology system map, a business process diagram, a supply chain diagram, or manufacturing specifications.

Other considerations for your go-to-market strategy

Of course, how you answer these questions depends on whether your offering is a product, service, or both; whether it’s being sold B2B or B2C; and the specifics of your industry including competitive forces, regulation, and distribution.

What will be most helpful to you and your organization as you begin your GTM journey is to define the answers to these questions up front and document them in a form that is easy to share and intuitive to understand.

To learn more GTM and start customizing your own checklist, check out our GTM Framework.